Välkommen till Sverige: First Impressions

Välkommen till Sverige! Welcome to Sweden! My name is Chloe Kaczvinsky. I am a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, and this semester I am living in Stockholm, Sweden. This column will follow my food adventures in Sweden and Europe.

I have been in Stockholm about a month now and have started to notice several things about the food culture here in Sweden. First, despite what Anthony Bourdain may say, there is definitely a sense of enjoying food here. All I need do to refute his assertion is point to a crawfish party. This is a joyful and, as far as I have heard, boisterous party accompanied by copious liquor consumption and even more singing (not to mention the crawfish). Though not a true crawfish party, a crawfish festival I attended when I first arrived certainly featured good food, cheerful crowds, and a variety of covers of well-known American and British songs. Nothing says fun times like cheap beer, tasty crawfish, and an odd cover of Hey Jude punctuated by phrases of Swedish.

Crawfish is hardly the only seafood available here. I have been quite happy to discover that lax (salmon) seems to be present in several iterations, including, my favorite, smoked. During the orientation trip to the archipelago, my entire program was taught how to eat prawns, which in Sweden come with eggs clinging to the body. Our lesson was simple: twist off the head, split and peel off the shell, and don’t forget to enjoy the salty goodness of the eggs, whether spread on bread or (if you’re like me) scooped up onto fingers and eaten without further adornment.

While I am looking forward to more chances to explore the seafood of this new country, the berries have already become a standout. Though it was not a surprise, I have certainly been enjoying the emphasis on getting out in nature that is present in Swedish culture. What was a surprise was the prevalence of blueberry plants along hiking and running trails. Though I am the last person to advocate eating an unknown berry you find in the woods, it has been quite nice picking and eating blueberries as we walk along a nature trail (after a braver person than I has tried them with no ill effects). The practice of being able to identify and eat plants in the wilderness does not seem to stop with berries either. One of my new Swedish friends has already promised to take me out to collect mushrooms.

Of course, any discussion of food in Sweden would be remiss without at least a mention of the tradition of fika, which is a coffee break typically involving one of many delicious pastries and good company. It has already become a cherished habit to go for fika with friends at one of the numerous coffee shops that dot the urban landscape of Stockholm. Until next time, hej då.
-Chloe Kaczvinsky